Professor Eric Yirenkyi Danquah, Founding Director of the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI), wins the 2022 Africa Food Prize at the AGRF2022 Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. He won a $100,000 cash prize for his outstanding scientific and academic contributions to African agriculture. The West Africa Center for Crop Improvement (WACCI) is an organization that trains young farmers in West and Central Africa to develop improved varieties of staple crops. Prof. Eric Yirenkyi has helped accumulate $30 million in research and development funding with WACCI. He has also trained over 120 Ph.D. and 49 MPhil students in Seed Science and Technology from 19 African countries.
Professor Eric Yirenkyi contributed by playing a vital role in the molecular science sector. WACCI has genetically enhanced 60 seed varieties over the years that have helped increase productivity and nutritional value. They currently have state-of-the-art university farms, a new molecular biology/tissue culture laboratory, and a bioinformatics platform. They also include a US$300,000 ultra-modern screen house for controlled experiments. In recognition of all these efforts and tremendous efforts in improving the current state of Africa, Prof. Eric Yirenkyi won the 2022 Africa Food Prize.
